Clinton, Trump clash over race and economy in first debate

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during an event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 15, 2016 and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a rally in Roanoke, Virginia, September 24, 2016 in a combination of file photographs. [Photo/Agencies]

Clinton criticized Trump for failing to pay some of the business people with whom his company had contracted. She said she had met a lot of people who had been cheated by her opponent.

Trump said such incidents of non-payment had taken place when the work was unsatisfactory.

TRADE AT ISSUE

Trump attacked Clinton for her trade policies and said she would approve a controversial trade deal with Asian countries despite opposing it as a candidate.

"You were totally in favor of it, then you heard what I was saying, how bad it is, and you said, 'Well, I can't win that debate,' but you know that if you did win, you would approve that," he said.

Clinton rejected the criticism.

"Well Donald, I know you live in your own reality, but that is not the facts," she said.

Moderator Lester Holt struggled to rein in the candidates, with discussions about trade policy suddenly shifting to the fight against Islamic State as Trump accused Clinton of giving away information to the enemy by revealing on her website how she planned to defeat the group. Clinton said that unlike Trump, she at least had a plan for fighting Islamist militants.

Opinion polls have shown the two candidates in a very tight race, with the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling showing Clinton ahead by 4 percentage points, with 41 percent of likely voters.

A second Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed half of America's likely voters would rely on the debates to help them make their choice.

Two other presidential candidates - Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein - were not invited to take part in the debate because neither had obtained at least 15 percent support in national polls, the threshold established to qualify.